Quarren
Also called 'Squid Heads', the Quarren are an intelligent humanoid species whose head resembles a four-tentacled squid. Having leathery skin, turquoise eyes, and suction-cupped fingers, this amphibious race shares the world of Dac with the sad-eyed Mon Calamari, living deep within their great floating cities. The Quarren and the Calamari share the same language, but the Quarren are more practical and conservative in their views. Unlike the Mon Calamari, who have also adopted the common language of the galaxy, the Quarren have remained faithful to their oceanic tongue, using the other only when dealing with off-worlders. Dac is a watery world with few land masses. What land exists is swampy, boglike marshes where the first aquacultural civilizations sprang up when the Calamarians emerged from the blue-green sea. The Quarren remained sea-dwellers, able to live in air but preferring the warm security of the sea. Eventually the two races began cooperating, the Mon Cal - as the Quarren call them - providing ideas and the Quarren providing the metal to make the ideas reality. Now great, floating cities dominate the oceans. They extend far below the waves and serve as centers of learning, culture, and government. Within the lower levels of these floating metropoli, the Quarren live and work. The Quarren are pragmatic people, unwilling to trust new ideas or lofty concepts. Their outlook on life, as evidenced in their art and literature, is somewhat opposed to that of the Mon Cals. They do not dream of brighter tomorrows, but hold fast to remembered yesterdays. The sea is where the people belong, not upon floating hunks of metal or out among the stars. Still, the Quarren have followed the Mon Cals from the ocean depths to the endless boid of space, benefitting from the dreams and aspirations of the sad-eyed race and growing considerably dependent upon them. This dependency has created friction between the two ocean peoples, as also indicated in the literature, and may be at the root of some hostilities that were manifest around the time of arrival of the first Imperial ships. What the Calamarians viewed as an opportunity to meet and join other species in a galactic brotherhood quickly turned bad when Imperial ships opened fire on the Calamarians, destroying several Mon Cal ships and damaging some cities on the surface. What few defenses the water planet possessed that fateful day were inoperative when called upon; rumors persist that the Quarren aided the Imperials by sabotaging the protective network. But both races were quickly enslaved by the Empire, impelled to work in labor camps to power the Imperial war machine. Little time passed before there was again solidarity against the outsiders, and led by the Mon Calamari, theories of passive resistance were implemented against the Imperial Forces. The Imperial Army, however, was not so easily deterred, and the resulting backlash was an atrocity the likes of which few in the galaxy even believed possible. Entire floating cities blasted out of existance by the Imperial fleet, turning the ocean red with the blood of the water planet's people. This act rallied the planet's inhabitants to join forces, and together they rose up desperately to repel the Imperial invaders with crude weapons and sheer will. Since that day of cooperation, many Quarren have fled the system to seek a life elsewhere in the galaxy. They have purposely steered clear of both the Rebellion and the Empire, opting to work in more shadowy occupations. Quarren are found among pirates, slavers, smugglers, and within various spy networks operating throughout the Empire. Additional Sources * [[:w:c:starwars:Quarren|'Quarren' on Wookieepedia]] Category:Races